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Nicola Tallis

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Elizabeth's Rival: The Tumultuous Tale of Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester Hardcover – November 2, 2017

by Nicola Tallis (Author)

4.4 817 ratings

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A kinswoman to Elizabeth I, Lettice Knollys had begun the Queen’s glittering reign basking in favor and success. It was an honor that she would enjoy for two decades. However, on the morning of September 21st, 1578, Lettice made a fateful decision. When the Queen learned of it, the consequences were swift. Lettice had dared to marry without the Queen’s consent. But worse, her new husband was Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, the Queen’s favorite and one-time suitor.

Though she would not marry him herself, Elizabeth was fiercely jealous of any woman who showed an interest in Leicester. Knowing that she would likely earn the Queen’s enmity, Lettice married Leicester in secret, leading to her permanent banishment from court. Elizabeth never forgave the new Countess for what she perceived to be a devastating betrayal, and Lettice permanently forfeited her favor. She had become not just Queen Elizabeth’s adversary. She was her rival.

But the Countess’ story does not end there. Surviving the death of two husbands and navigating the courts of three very different monarchs: Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and Charles I, Lettice’s story offers an extraordinary and intimate perspective on the world she lived in.

Print length

400 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Michael OMara
Publication date

November 2, 2017
Dimensions

6.02 x 1.42 x 9.21 inches
ISBN-10

1782437495
ISBN-13

978-1782437499
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Michael OMara (November 2, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1782437495
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1782437499
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.59 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.02 x 1.42 x 9.21 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #5,893,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #35,751 in Great Britain History (Books)
- #144,298 in World History (Books)

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4.4 817 ratings

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4.4 out of 5

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A life well lived in the dangerous court of Elizabeth I

Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2019

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Thia is the history/biography of Lettice Knollys who was born (probably) in 1543 and died in 1634. Lettice is short for Laetitia and was a fairly common name in for girls in Tudor England. Laetitia means happiness or joy.
Lettice's mother was most likely an illegitimate daughter of Henry VIII and so Lettice was in the royal line. This would make her life difficult. She married Walter Devereux and then married Robert Dudley. Dudley was the queen's favourite and this marriage caused Lettice to be exiled from court.
This isn't just a book about Lettice Knollys. The court of Elizabeth I and Elizabeth herself are also major characters. Lettice was not only of the royal line but also a lady-in-waiting to the queen. The ladies in waiting had access to the queen and this brought them great influence in court. Elizabeth was strong-willed, quick to anger and jealous of rivals, qualities in the main shared by Lettice who was also regarded as one of the most beautiful women in the land. Her secret marriage to Dudley was both a blessing and a disaster for Lettice.
This is the story of Lettice's life is told very well. The book is well paced and whilst it contains a lot of historica details it never gets lost in them. Nicola Tallis manages the difficult trick of keeping the history present and correct while letting Lettice shine through. The perils and politics of the elizabethan court are described magnificently. This is really a book about Lettice whose loves, joys and disasters are a great story; well told. For lovers of Tudor history this book adds so much colour to that world and is highly recommended.

2 people found this helpful

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Galla

A life of joy and heartbreak

Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2018

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Lettice Knollys certainly lived a fascinating life, full of love and excitement but with great heartbreak and sorrow as well. A close relative of Elizabeth I, cousin and probably niece, she was the daughter of Elizabeth's intimate Katherine Carey and the well respected Francis Knollys. Her early life was spent with a close and loving family, followed by a short time at court before marriage to William Devereaux. it apprared that her life would be a happy one, with a prominent husband and beloved children. Unfortunately her husband spent his last few years fighting for glory in Ireland whoch lrd to massive debts and his death. Lettice was left a widow with young children and legal problems. Her real difficulties began when she married the Earl of Leicester, the Queen's beloved Robin. Elizabeth forgave the Earl but never forgave Lettice who was banned from court. This enmity lasted until
Elizabeth's even though she later favored Lettice's sons and daughters, including the young Earl of Essex. His arrogance and hotheadedness led to his downfall and execution for treason and more heartbreak for Lettice. Her life became easier after the accession of James I but she still outlived her other children and siblings. indeed when she died at the age of ninety, she was about the only one of her generation left.
Tallis has written a detailed and captivating account of a strong woman who lived during exciting and challenging times. Too often Lettice is portrayed in movies and books as an arrogant woman who fell afoul of Elizabeth Tudor. She was that, yes, but she was also much more and certainly deserves her own biography. This is that biography but it is also a book about an incredible time in history.

3 people found this helpful

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M. Stevens

Nicely done

Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2020

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A well-done book by Nicola Tallis on two extraordinary women. Lettice Knollys is often only a minor character in film or TV adaptations, if she's there at all. She's certainly been a part of written history, but, until now, I'm not aware of a book that really researched her to this extent. Of course, much of the information about Elizabeth I is already known that's included here, but it only make the book more enjoyable -- the juxtaposition between Elizabeth and the kinswoman she would come to hate with a white-hot passion for most of her life. Elizabeth had a track record of moving harshly against her family and kin -- the unfortunate Gray sisters, for example, but few earned the absolute contempt that she held for so long for Lettice. It gives new meaning to "a woman scorned," as she forgave, rather quickly, Lester, her favorite, but never the woman who he got his heart. What a psychological marvel it is to unwind the Tudor mind.

5 people found this helpful

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Vivienne Smith

Vividly brings to life Lettice Knollys!

Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2021

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The books was exhaustively researched and well written. Lettice Knollys really comes to life and the rivalry between her and Elizabeth is fairly described. The power that Robert Dudley had because of his dedication to Elizabeth in no way diminishes the solid marriage he and Lettice had and thoroughly describes the tightrope he and Lettice walked when dealing with Elizabeth. The book also illuminated her other marriages after Dudley dies and puts her long life into perspective as she reaches her nineties. She survived so much of Elizabethan history and the reign of the Stuarts. A fascinating book!

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alsa

Historical biography, the non-fiction kind

Reviewed in Spain on May 24, 2023

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Clear when entering the realm of speculation (even if the reader disagrees with some scenarios), Tallis presents a biography of Lettice Knollys, best known anecdotally as the “she-wolf” (in the words of Elizabeth I) that swept the Queen’s “eyes” (Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester) into wedlock, and as the mother of a most (in)famous rebel (Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex). Knollys, like many of her contemporaries, both in England and Continental Europe, had a long and eventful life worth knowing, even if fleshed out from a naturally incomplete record of primary sources — still, her circumstances (and book) are sprinkled with other salient celestial bodies orbiting the huge star that was Elizabeth I, in a lively portrait of how interwoven their lives at (and away from) court definitely were.

Nancy

Great history

Reviewed in Canada on August 18, 2018

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Fantastic, well written historical book. Not disappointed

1d2v3c4m

Fascinating, as good as expected.

Reviewed in Germany on November 15, 2019

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Fascinating, every bit as good as I had expected.

Mr Tim Cole

Elizabeth's' Rival: The Tumultuous Tale of Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester by Nicola Tallis

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 6, 2018

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This new biography tells the extraordinary life of Lettice Knollys, Countless of Leicester who lived through to the age of 91 outliving three husbands and all of her children and many of her grand-children. Tudor historian Nicola Tallis recounts her life in 22 concise and distinct chapters which reveal her fascinating and complex life. For two decades Lettice had been the darling of the court and was Queen Elizabeth I,s, closest and most important lady of the bedchamber! Lettice had married Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex and the father of her children. Their marriage had been somewhat ill-tempered and hot-headed. Essex went to serve the Queen in Ireland and the endless campaigns and awful weather took its toll on the Earl's' health and he died an early death thus creating Lettice a widow! In 1578 The Countess of Essex remarried in secret to none-other than the Queens favorite courtier Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. This outraged the notoriously hot-headed Queen and Lettice was banished from the court and faced long periods of prison and isolation. Despite these difficulties this was a happy marriage marred only by the death of their only son Robert, Lord Denbigh at the age of just 7. After Dudley's' death she mourned him ardently for the rest of her life but she did marry for a third time to Christopher Blount. The Countess of Leicester never regained favor at court but was a good mother and had an excellent relationship with her large and extended family. Her son Robert, Earl of Essex did become Elizabeth's' chief favorite and darling in the later years of her reign but he over-reached himself and openly rebelled against her which failed dramatically, resulting in his execution in 1601. This was a death-knell for his grieving mother but she recovered to become a formidable matriarch living on into the reign of King Charles I. Her life was full of passion, grandeur, lovers and wealth but also times of penury, exile and disgrace. This brilliant book by a brilliant new Tudor historian is a lively and engaging read which will have you hooked from beginning to end. Its about an amazing and intriguing woman who will leave you breathless from beginning to end! I urge you to order your copy from amazon now.

9 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Interessant

Reviewed in Germany on February 4, 2023

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Ein sehr interessantes Buch.

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